


Revenge

by Choxy



Series: The second padawan [8]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst and Feels, Episode: s04e22 Revenge, Minor Injuries, Protectiveness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-15
Updated: 2020-05-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:48:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24023854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Choxy/pseuds/Choxy
Summary: Tabitha wouldn't have let Obi-Wan go after Maul alone, would she?Not without putting up a fight, no.But will she be able to persuade the second-most stubborn Jedi in existence?
Relationships: Obi-Wan Kenobi & Original Female Character(s)
Series: The second padawan [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1594390
Comments: 4
Kudos: 23





	Revenge

Tabitha dodges another group of younglings as she runs through the halls of the temple in search of her Master. 

Obi-Wan had strode out of the room like a man with a purpose after they finished discussing, not even giving her the time to voice her thoughts about what he plans to do. 

After all these years, Maul is alive, yes, and Obi-Wan may be angry and irrational but he has to see that facing the Zabrak alone is just plain stupid and risky. 

The Sith is on a train of revenge and jumping onto that train won't get Obi-Wan anywhere but hurt. He may have taken him down a decade ago but Maul won't fall for the same tricks again.

Her Master needs backup and if it's only her, it doesn't matter. Tabitha has heard enough about the Zabrak from Obi-Wan, Anakin, and the archives that she knows he's dangerous and now in his deranged revenge-driven mind even unpredictable. 

  
  


She finally spies a familiar tunic-clad figure in the distance and pushes her legs to carry her faster. 

"Master!" 

There's a slight hesitation in his steps but he doesn't stop. Tabitha gathers odd looks from Jedi all around her but at this point, she doesn't care, she just wants her Master to see reason.

"Master! Obi-Wan, wait!"

She finally catches up to him and places herself in front of him to stop him, breathing hard. 

He does indeed stop. 

"You can't go alone, Master. That's too dangerous. You could get hurt."  _ Or die,  _ she thinks but doesn't say. 

Tabitha doesn't want to think about that, has full trust in her master's capability, but the whole Hardeen fiasco wasn't so long ago and emotions are still raw after that. 

She can't lose Obi-Wan again, not after knowing how it felt the first time. 

Maybe that's not how Jedi are supposed to deal with that. 

_'You_ _need to let go of what you fear to lose or the fear in you can lead you to the dark side.'_ She's heard that sentence often enough but at this moment she couldn't care less. 

"You heard him, Tabitha. If I don't come alone he will kill everyone in that village." Obi-Wan reasons, moving aside to walk around. 

The calmness in his voice is just a facade. 

She knows. 

She felt it when the transmission from Maul first started. The fear, the panic, the frustration, and the bitterness, all of it mixed together making him feel numb. 

Tabitha may not be able to feel it across their bond anymore because her master shut his shields tightly after he realized she could but she's known him long enough to know how he tics. 

He'll try to analyze them, accept and release them, let the Force carry them like a Jedi is taught, but after a while, they will come back because that's  **not** how emotions work.

"They're probably dead already." She blurts out without even thinking of cushioning the impact of her words and only comprehending how that just sounded when Obi-Wan looks at her bitterly and silently continues to walk away. 

" _ Shit _ ."

Tabby hastily catches up with the Jedi Master, having given up on trying to stop him. 

"Ok, badly formulated but you know what I mean. Raydonia's colonists are few, unarmed and untrained. If Maul is half of what I read and heard about him then the odds of anyone being still alive are next to nonexistent. It's clearly a trap!" She exclaims in frustration. 

A hand going up to stroke his beard, Obi-Wan seems to be contemplating, but assumably how to get her off his back without having to argue. 

_ 'Ha, not happening. Got my stubbornness from you, Master, remember?'  _

"We cannot give up on them, Little one." The ginger counters tightly. 

That is another thing that points to Obi-Wan's emotional stress and anxiety: Curt sentences without any arguments or reasons. 

Normally, he would launch into a debate right of the bat, now he's tight-lipped and snippy. 

"I'm not saying nobody should go, I'm saying that it's a trap and you shouldn't go alone because that's just suicidal." 

Honestly, Tabitha feels like she's talking to a child right now. A particularly thick-headed child.

"If I bring the 212th, Maul will notice and murder every single survivor before disappearing just to turn up in another village, killing more innocent people. If I come alone, I at least have a chance to prevent that."

Okay, at some point that faux calm coating his accented voice started to get on her nerves. 

Probably because he puts up this facade trying to hide his real feelings from everyone, including her and therefore straight-up lying.

Oh, how Tabitha wishes Anakin was here right now.  _ She  _ could use some backup with this infuriating idiot of a master. (She doesn't mean it. Obi-Wan's a great master, she's just incredibly frustrated.) 

Anakin may still be pissed about Hardeen but he would never allow his former Master to go on a suicide mission all alone. 

Neither would she, for that matter.

"Then don't. Let me come with you instead." The girl proposes without a wink of hesitation, dodging a youngling who suddenly came dashing wildly through the halls and therefore missing the furrow of her master's brow, the tightening of his features and the way is body goes rigid in the span of a second. 

And she definitely can't feel the cold fear blossoming behind the Jedi's mental shields (he made sure of that), almost making him freeze mid-stride. 

Tabitha doesn't even notice after she turns back to face him, too focused on her tirade. 

"I can help and he won't notice if it's only me. We'd have a bigger chance to defeat him if we face him toge-"

Out of the blue, two hands wrap around her upper arms firmly, pulling her out of the middle of the corridor to the right and turning her around to look her Master dead in the eye. 

His pale blue eyes are like raging seas at this moment, full of turmoil and pain. The display of emotion in the blue orbs is almost overwhelming and she can't even specify what she sees.

"You will  _ not _ come with me, Tabitha. You will never face that monstrosity of a being, no matter what happens. Do you understand?" Obi-Wan croaks out, his voice steely but Tabitha can hear the small waver underneath it. 

She continues to gape at her master, mouth moving to form words, ask why but the man cuts her off before she can make a sound, his hands tightening around her arms, not enough to bruise but enough to sting a little. 

"Maul already killed Qui-Gon. I won't put you into his crosshairs and let him hurt you too. I'm going alone so he can't hurt anyone else dear to me." 

The small wobble in his voice is more noticeable now and there's dampness in his eyes at the idea of someone else he cares about being killed because of the sith who holds a grudge against him. 

Tabitha looks down at the ground in shame at not having thought about Master Jinn's death and that maybe that's the reason he wants to go alone. 

She should've known.

"But what about you, Master? What if something happens to you? I can't…" Her voice is weak and trails off at the end because she already knows she lost this. 

There's no stopping Obi-Wan, the only thing she can do is to get him to be careful. 

A hand under her chin forces Tabitha, who had found a great interest in her boots, to meet Obi-Wan's eyes. His features had softened and his eyes hold no conflict anymore, just sympathy. 

"I defeated Maul before, I can do it again. But if something should go terribly wrong, I will make sure I get out of there." 

Tabitha's not completely convinced nor comforted. 

Yes, he defeated him before but now Maul's stronger and prepared and maybe Obi-Wan won't get the chance to bail out of there and then everything will go from worse to shit. 

She's shaken out her reverie by her master's gentle voice. 

"Do you trust me, Tabby?" 

A confused frown comes to the padawan's features. What kind of question even is that?

"Always."

"Then trust me when I say I'll be fine. And I'll be careful, I promise."

Shoulders dropping, Tabitha breathes out a huge sigh, accepting defeat. 

"Okay. As long as you come back in one piece."

Obi-Wan gifts her with a small, sarcastic smirk and she already knows that the sass will follow before her master speaks again. 

"Oh, I'm not taking after Maul. I like my legs where they are and I think I'll need them a bit longer." 

His reward for that comment: A punch to the shoulder after her arms are released, which hurts enough to make the Jedi rub the sore spot. 

"You deserved that, Master. Now go before I change my mind about allowing you to go alone." She grins up at him, letting him ruffle her hair without complaining even though she normally does and watches him stride into the direction of the hangar. 

"And, Master?" She calls after him after a moment of consideration. Obi-Wan stops and turns back to look at her. 

"If I am right and something goes wrong, you can prepare yourself for a big 'I told you so'. Good luck!" 

She can't catch sight of the amused eye roll but she knows it's there.

  
  


So, of course, things went wrong, more so than Tabitha thought they could, and the temple got the call from Anakin that the  _ Resolute  _ somehow picked up a beaten and bloodied Obi-Wan Kenobi who managed to catch a ride off Raydonia. 

And, of course, Tabitha is the first there when the  _ Resolute  _ touches down on Coruscant and the ramps lower to reveal Ahsoka, Anakin, Rex, and a limping Obi-Wan. She stands there, waiting patiently with her arms crossed. 

At times like this, she feels like the master of her master and, gods, she does not envy Master Jinn who had to put up with Obi-Wan Kenobi's stubbornness for over a decade. 

Or maybe that's just where her master got it from.

When the group draws closer, Tabitha discovers that Anakin is indeed supporting Obi-Wan and chatting with him, identical smiles gracing both of their faces. 

So they talked. About damn time.

She can also discern the exact moment that Obi-Wan sees her and realizes what's about to happen because he groans and says something to Anakin to which he just smirks in smug satisfaction. 

Ahsoka waves, as does Rex, as a greeting and Tabby returns it with one of her own.

Once the people she considers close family, are within earshot she speaks, voice flat and dripping with sarcasm.

"So, let me guess. Something went horribly wrong and you couldn't bail out in time. That sound about right, Master?" 

"You're a good guesser, padawan, but look at the bright side, I still have all limbs." Her master replies with as much sass, as usual, wiggling mentioned limbs only to grimace a little when the motion sends multiple spikes of pain through his battered body. 

Tabitha seizes this opportunity to assess the Jedi master's injuries. 

So, yes, he has all limbs but Anakin wasn't exaggerating when he said Obi-Wan looked like shit. There are bruises covering about every visible patch of exposed skin and probably more than those, varying from blue to greenish-yellow and other colorful hues. Tabitha can also see some bandages peeking out from behind the dirty robes, evidence that there are some gashes and cuts, and she's one-hundred percent certain that he has some broken ribs. If the way he's holding his side and leaning on the knight is anything to go by.

Obi-Wan looks like he's fine after the pain from before faded, presumably because Kix gave him painkillers or something and most of his wounds had already been dressed but the healers want to see him anyway. 

"Very funny. The healers still want to see you, Master. You know, just to make sure it stays that way." 

She takes great satisfaction from the disheartened groan coming from the ginger and indicates to the speeder waiting to take them back to the temple. 

They get moving.

"Oh and just because I promised.  _ I told you so, Master."  _


End file.
